How To Make Zimmerit: 1/35 Panther Zimmerit Tutorial 

Thanks for the video. It's great. A tried this and have a couple of observations. The tub of Elmer's wood filler I bought was a little too stiff out of the box. The Tamiya zimmerit tool would just wipe all of it off. I added a little water and got the same result that you did. But you only need a very tiny amount of water. I added about 3 drips of water from the faucet to about 2 tablespoons (sorry for the old measurements) of putty, mixed it up with a cocktail stick, and it was perfect. I added just a little more than this in my first attempt and it was too liquidy - so that the Tamiya tool again just wiped it all off. I just wipe the tool off with toilet paper after each swipe and only wash it after a session. But you do need to wash it then because otherwise putty will build up between the teeth and wipe everything off.

Best tutorial on zimmerit I've ever seen. Great video mate! Thank you very much.

I just tried this tool with Vallejo plastic putty and it works like a charm

Great How to video! This method that you show is much cheaper than buying photo etch zimmerit sheets. Bravo!!!

Just purchased this kit then found your video excellent would of liked to of seen the whole turret done it looked great thanks for taking the time and for sharing

Great video and tutorial. I built this same kit 36 years ago. I applied zimmerit using dry wall Spackle (the standard for that time) and applied it using a small strip of corrugated steel. All was well until a couple of years ago, the zimmerit started flaking and pealing away in spots. I've done some mods and repainting and it now has a nice battle worn look! All was not lost!

Awesome video, great job with the end result too! Glad I'm not the only person who sees German armor models and thinks they need Zimmerit

Your tutorial helped a lot. I'm going to pick up a couple of the old Tamiya Panther A and try this on.

Nice job. Years ago I used the Squadron Green putty to make the square zimmeritt pattern on a Panther and it came out well. I will definitely be using this in the future. Great video!

Awesome looking job! Great tutorial also! You made it look super easy to do! I’m not afraid of the Z monster anymore!

Thank you for the awesome tutorial. Best I've seen yet.

I used to use modeling putty and a very small flat screw driver. It worked well for me. I wish I still had the models to show off. Many of my models were lost in my moves from state to state and city to city. It's time to try it again.

I give the plastic a rough sand before adding wood filler. Gives it more to grab onto. Nice vid.

Hi there! Great idea and good demonstration. I’m looking to use this technique on a 1/16th Panther. What I like about your method is the fact that if you mess it up or just don’t like the pattern / effect, then its easy to wash off. You have a like and a new subscriber. Greetings from the UK!

Thanks for the demo, really enjoyed watching it.

thanks dude! I actually have the same kit and just got tool from tamyia in the mail. The wood putty is what I was not sure of. Now I know!!!!

I stumbled upon a book in the library "The Panther Tank. Hilter's T-34 Killer", an Images of War Special, by Anthony Tucker Jones. It reminded me (actually I never forgot) that I have that exact same Tamiya Panther model in my stash! I'm not so knowledgeable on WW2 armour, and always thought the Zimmerit coating was field-applied. The book mentioned though for the Ausf. A, Zimmerit starting being applied in the factory. Therefore, when I finally get down to picking up where I left off, I'm going to have to try out the technique demonstrated in this video. I really like the part about using Elmer's Wood Putty. I little personal history trivia; I picked this Panther model to use my Tamiya prize voucher on, after I'd won a consolation prize submitting a Tamiya 1/48 A6M5c Zero. BTW that Zero kit (way back in 1989) was a real joy to assemble. I could not believe how well the parts fit! Glad to be able to say they've kept up the good engineering in their molds. Yeah, so I'm actually more of an aircraft guy :> hee hee. Oh, no, I don't work for Tamiya or anything like that. They've just earned my regard. Thanks for sharing in this video. I'm way more confident to try out being a MAN (German tank factory) worker on my Panther now.

Thank you for this practical and economical technique.

This is an excellent video! Thanks for sharing it! I plan on giving this technique a try on the Dragon King Tiger that I will be working on in the future.

When you were washing it off I was like NOOOO! Great video thanks for posting.

I am so doing this! thanks for the video.

Very well done. Clear and concise. Thank you.

Thanks for a great "how to" video... I've struggled with zimmerit in the past and am looking forward to give it another go... this time with Elmer's wood filler!

Maybe you could show the turret with the dried wood putty and painted? I would really enjoy seeing how this looks on a finished model!! Great video, Thank you!

Nice technique! I'm going to use that method with my Meng Panther A.👍

Very thanks to share!!!.. Awsome tutorial... On the other hand I used those tools with modeling artist paste of Amsterdam. That paste is very different to milliput, tamiya or another epoxie putties. Amsterdam parte it's an acrylic paste and very easy to use..

This excellent. Next German tank will be done this way.

Awesome ,the perfect Zimmerit

Super tutorial. !!!!! I to time future building Panther Ausf. A, Meng 1:35 TS-035 and Befel. Panther Ausf.A late, No. 35011 Das werk. Nice job !!!. Edward, Czech Republic.

Thanks for this video, and great work!. I just bought this kit on my honeymoon in Branson and was hoping to learn how to do a zimmerit coating. Guess il have to order that tool now, looks pretty simple to use

Very good tutorial, some very interesting patterns!!

Very good video! Thank you.

Thank you for sharing us.

Great video!

Simpel and verry effective ! certenly gona juse this some day thx alot

nice vdie on making the zimmerit! For information purposes - the Zimmerit was only applied to the German tanks from about mid-1943 to about October 1944. During this time period, all German tanks at the factory, and those being over-hauled in the field were supposed to be covered with the zimmerit. After late '44 they stopped applying the zimmerit.

nice tutorial. Even with one hand I think I can do this

Great Video!!! Thanks man!

Super tutorial. My try at zimmerit was using the Tamiya sticker type stuff on a late model tiger... I will definitely give this a try next time.

Great video! Thank you very much for showing us. /Erik

That filler looks like peanut flavor ice cream. Nice job!!

Fantastic demo. Thank you. Could you show how to apply on sides where the tools etc need adding?

Awesome! Thank you very much from Russia!

A thread gauge set does the job too, since i'm a metric guy i use my imperal kit for this ; )

THANKS :D BRILLANTE SALUDOS DESDE MEXICO

Well I wish I saw this video before I used used the zimmerit decals that came with my Trumpeter kit. How do you do the compound curves for the machine gun?

That is a very good job.

Great video, plan on trying this on some Tiger and Panther builds later. Quick question though, could you use this wood filler for filling gaps as an alternative to putty? Thanks in advanced!

Excellent video! Thank you! I'll sub

I remember building that kit in '95. I always used an old piece of a hacksaw blade to apply my Zimmerit with the good old Squadron green putty. Good memories!

Congratulations ! I like so much! I try to do in the same way, but i think very difficult found the Elmer's wood filler here in Brazil. I try with a local brand. Thank you Daytona!

If you want cheaper version of this tool, or with different spacings, go look for jigsaw blades. They have variety of tooth sizes you can choose from. Only downside is that you have to grind them down to a point - they are usually 0.5-1mm thick with wavy cutting edge, so you need to make it straight by grinding - few minute job with dremel, or other grinder, and you have tool just as good.

thanks a lot

Thanks for the tutorial!, it's interesting that you are using wood filler as the real thing contained wood byproduct.

Great

this was impressive.

Awesome work! I hope to find the wood filler here in Brazil!!!

nice good job

What can you recommend? I'm thinking of applying zimmerit first (with the wood filler you exactly have) then painting it with red oxide, first layer and so on and so forth. Is it advisable to paint the red oxide first or is it okay if I apply the zimmerit first?

Thank you for the tutorial my good sir! If I may ask (since I'm new to making scale models) the wood filler/putty is paintable, right?

finally you post a video again

I cried a little when you wiped it off!

how well does the elmer wood filler stick to the plastic ,does it improve the bond if you rough sand the area to receive zimmerit , also how well does it stay bonded thru painting and weathering ? thanks for the information

How does it work when it comes time to apply the decals on the zimerrit? Is it going to stick good or? I;d imagine decals are going to have a hard time staying put on the zimm

This technique works very well. I'm just having some trouble applying it to the top section of my jagdtigers hull, there's a lot of obstacles such as a gun port and the gun travel lock and i can't seem to get around them without screwing up. Any suggestions? Thanks

Is that smooth putty? All I can get here is gritty and it makes a mess.

I have loved your job sir! I'm trying zimmerit for the first time. I took the same materials but i'm so far from your goal. I have tried different attempts, with the applicator in the vertical way, at 45° , with a very thin lay of putty also with too much putty. The result it is the same, the putty stops on the applicator, any suggestions?

I have the same tool from tamiya and i bought elmers wood filler tube for interior, but its so tick that when using the tool all come off...what should be the consistency ?

Just wondering if I would be able to use any filler to make the zimmerit it coating? Thanks.

may i ask, since you say this putty is solutable in water, . So does it affect you cleaning it later.. say a end year cleaning where you clean the model with wet towel or hold it directly under a steaming water , just curious

wow, 1st time I've ever seen zim that looks right. I'll have to do this. thanks. everyone I've ever seen, that makes zim, is always way to thick.

Did it dry and finish well?

I really enjoyed your video. I have these Zimm Applicators from Tamiya, but put them away after what I considered disastrous results. LOL!! I also have this kit, (never opened), but I've built a few of them long ago, a few times. My question is, how long does the Elmers take to dry, and how durable is it to paint and weathering techniques? Once again, great video.

Great job DTF! How well does this wood filler hold? It's been more than six months, is it still holding up without flicking? I was almost n tears when you washed it off at the end just to show us it can be done. Did you seal it before applying paint? I wonder how well it hold up against dry brush.

Wish RU-vid would allow picture to be posted, I'd love to show Zimmerit on my Elefant with 2 part Tamiya polyester putty and Tamiya zimmerit tools

So as with German camo there is no real wrong way to apply it.

You can make your own zem. It's made of saw dust and pva glue. They put a couple additives for vibration resistance Barium sulfate which is used in dental fillings and zinc which was used for uv resistance to stop bleaching in the sun. They put it on in 2 coats, 1st 5mm with a checkerboard pattern to hold the second coat better. And 2nd was a skim wavy coat with irregular patterns cut in it to keep flat anti tank charges from sticking....the ones you see in pics either never had their 2nd coat added or it has been shot off (when shot with an mg the top coat flaked off most of the time) shooting your own tanks with mgs happened as a regular practice and still does today...it was called removing fleas. I did a series of interviews in college with ex German tankers. I also trained with the German military during my career and hold a German rifleman and paratrooper qualification.

Really enjoyed your tutorial. I tried the wood filler and it comes up with the zimmerit tool. Does it need to dry a little before using the tool? If so, how long? Great videos on your channel.

Absolutely great Video. But that old tamiya kit is a real pain to get it to look good. Do you have a video or pic of your finished kit? Or did you abandon it again.

wher do you get zimmerts to 1/76 ?

I can say that this is a little bit wrong the size of the applicator should be 0.5 and if you look veeeeeery carefully you might realize that the zimmerit was not apply this way .Something like that but not quite .I think that horizontal lines are made later with some instrument

Have not problems to fix the filler over the plastic? I mean, you use a wood filler as zimmerit base but I suppose that the filler has a water base, something that could do, when you paint touch the kit or do the weathering that the filler peel off.

17:43 pain edit: once you apply the zimmerit and then paint over it and everything, if it gets wet will it still come off? great video btw

How much Tamiya thin glue did it take to cover the zimmerit over the entire model?

Awesome Video. I learned a lot. But I've got one question. Is the Woodputty waterproof once it has dried.

I can’t find your Facebook page, it’s not a normal page, unable to join

Silly question. Once dried and painted over, will it stay on the model for a long time?

*PULL DOWN, SLIDE*

wher do you get the zimmareit ciment?

I dont understand why there are so many different zimmerit patterns. Wouldnt a smooth zimmerit coating be easier and faster to apply?

Anybody who even thinks of using squadron green putty is out of their mind. I really recommend apoxy sculpt for zimmerit. AFV Club makes an excellent zimmerit tool.

You can’t go to Facebook and find it in the search bar

i'm no expert but all the pics i've seen of zimmerit, the pattern is vertical not horizontal. Every single German WWII tank i've seen the pattern goes in the opposite direction of yours. It should be a ladder, not a side ladder.

Disappointing. I want to make the real stuff and apply it to my pickup truck for, uh... research purposes.